I missed you guys! How many of you have seen the Body and Soul fancams from NYC? I can only imagine the boys reactions when they were shown that floor move they'd have to do ;) Maybe one day I'll get to go to one of their concerts, although from what I'm hearing I definitely want a seated ticket. The pit/standing section sounds like hell. That being said, for all of you going to the concerts, I hope you stay safe, respectful and have a good time! Let's make sure everyone enjoys themselves, including the boys. The prospect of exploring without being followed by cameras is probably something they're looking forward to.

Thanks for all your votes and lovely comments! And hello and thank you as well to new subscribers!

Now, onwards~

Photo: Vocal&Visual

Preparing for their first Baby Day is a new experience. It’s different from their showcase, not easier like they’d expected, but they certainly have more weight behind them now. The entire audience will be filled with just their fans, which is both exciting and nerve-wracking. Nothing less than a perfect performance was enough to thank the fans who had stuck with them since the beginning and those who found them and decided to join their journey.

Daehyun is fretting because this is really the first time he’s going to be performing a true ballad in front of so many people, as B.A.P’s Daehyun.

Ballads are his thing. He’s good at them, he likes them, they just…fit. B.A.P’s often rock-style vocals, while he loved them, often meant his mastery of technique took a back seat. He’s aware that there are those who believe he’s capable of little more than screaming out high notes, and ballads are his chance to show them he’s more than a one-trick pony, that he really can sing. But he’s never really sung them as part of B.A.P, besides on some of their B-side tracks, and those times he had Youngjae by his side, too.

He’s confident, knows he’s good, but the doubt lingers. What if he’s not enough? Him on his own, without his group mates on stage with him. Nothing but a piano to back him up. There’d be no hiding any mistakes, any quivers in his voice, any cracks in his notes. And it wouldn’t just affect him anymore; it could mean bad reviews for B.A.P as a whole.

He almost wishes he’d picked an easier, less comparable song. He doesn’t regret it, though, 4MEN are a group he’s admired for so long and the song is one of his favourites. If he can’t pull it off and fails, at least he’ll have been giving voice to something he loves while he’s doing it.

He looks around the waiting room. Something he loves…

Yongguk is busy at the moment, as leader he’s being bothered with every last minute change or problem, along with their manager. He’d pulled Daehyun aside before leaving the dorm, though, leaning the bathroom door closed as the others packed their bags and cupped his face with delicate hands.

“You’ll be amazing, Daehyun-ah.”

A man of few words, as they all knew, but that’s all he needs to say to have Daehyun’s heart soaring. He had left with a smile and sweet kiss and Daehyun wishes he could get one now, as they hadn’t had much time alone together and his nerves are beginning to jump.

Youngjae, where was Youngjae? Daehyun was feeling the inexplicable urge to bother him with bratty affection. Or maybe Jongup? Jongup was in need of some coddling. Well, Jongup never really needed coddling, but Daehyun did it anyway. Junhong, though, that kid definitely needed some coddling, if only Daehyun could spot him…

In the midst of his mild anxiety attack, it’s Himchan that comes to sit beside him, a mug of tea in his hands.

“You forgot it. I reheated it for you.”

Daehyun smiles gratefully, “Thank you, hyung. You really aren’t a nuisance all the time!”

Himchan punches Daehyun’s shoulder lightly, “If I didn’t know you any better, I’d hit you harder for that.”

Himchan leans back against the sofa, stretching his arms out and surveying the staff bustling about. Soon enough he’s pulled Daehyun into conversation without him realizing it, commenting about articles he’d read online, the latest scandals, new restaurants.

By the time the stage manager brushes by him with a speedy notice that he has 3 minutes left, all the tension has eased from his body.

Himchan pats his shoulder and brushes his hair out of his eyes briefly, “Go show ‘em why you’re our ace, Daehyunnie.”

Daehyun stands and makes his way to the stage, turning back before he’s out of sight, “Himchan-hyung? Thank you.”
 

“Anytime, brat.” Himchan responds, with the soft affection he reserves for Daehyun only on special occasions.

Yongguk is standing by the curtains to the stage, watching the others perform. Daehyun comes to stand beside him, quiet but close enough for Yongguk to know he’s there. The elder slowly turns away from the performance and smiles widely at Daehyun, bringing his hand up to softly clasp the back of the vocalist’s neck. His thumb the soft skin briefly before his hand is falling away as their manager comes up beside them.

“You ready, Daehyunnie?” Kang asks, clapping the boy’s back with a hearty grin. Daehyun giggles as the man pinches one of his cheeks, face scrunching into an expression of kittenish glee. “Look at you. Ah, so cute!”

Daehyun laughs, “Stop, hyung!”

Yongguk grins as he watches Daehyun squirm away from Kang’s hands, “He’ll be great.”

A young woman on a headset comes by bowing apologetically, “You’re up, Daehyun-sshi.”

*          *          *

Yongguk watches Daehyun with anxious eyes. He has full confidence in the younger, probably more than Daehyun himself, but he knows they’re all nervous to be performing on their own today. Daehyun put on a good show of bravado, but he really was a soft hearted soul and Yongguk could practically see the nerves rattle inside him. He was almost glad for the distractions brought to him; they prevented him from getting too carried away with the younger, as he had in the past couple of days.

Yongguk had found himself unable to contain his giddiness as they stood in front of the fans at the fan meeting after their comeback performance on Music Bank. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching past Junhong and brushing the golden skin on Daehyun’s arm when the urge to touch the younger man became too strong to ignore. The singer, like the rest of them, is back to blonde and Yongguk is reminded how much he likes the colour on him, the way it highlights his skin and brings out an ethereal innocence he can’t get enough of.

When their eyes had met for what seemed like the hundredth time in only a few minutes, they both had to look away and hold their smiles before it became too much. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face for long though, rubbing his neck just to have something to do with his hands before they were eventually led away.

He was painfully obvious, he thinks now with a wince.

Daehyun is singing beautifully and more passionately than he ever has. The vocalist had sat with him after the others had already gone to bed the night before, fingers laced together as they spoke quietly.

“I know you’re not a big ballad person, but…it’s been a while since I’ve had someone to really sing for. And tomorrow, I want to sing for you, hyung.”

Yongguk’s heart jumps. He had forgotten this part of life, the sweetness. “Not true, I appreciate all music. I’d love anything you sing. It’s a beautiful song.”

“I hope I can do it justice. I’ve never performed this one in front of anyone, and there’s going to be so many people…and maybe I shouldn’t have gone with the piano version, it’s so stripped down and my voice is going to be so obvious, and of course that means I can’t mess up at all, not that it would be okay otherwise-”

It’s not that Yongguk doesn’t like to hear Daehyun talk, he’s quite entertaining and funny when he’s not rambling nonsensically, but now that he’s allowed to kiss Daehyun (almost) whenever he wants, it’s just another excuse to ravish those inviting lips he’s admired for ages.

“Mmm, hyung…” Daehyun murmurs as he pulls back slowly, laughing nervously in mild horror when he finds he’s crawled into Yongguk’s lap sometime mid lip-lock. He tries to move off, but Yongguk doesn’t let him.

“What if someone comes in?” Daehyun whispers as he nervously eyes the hallway.

Yongguk raises a brow in mock arrogance, “Then I’d just have to take care of it.”

Daehyun takes his cues from Yongguk, only touching the other when the elder has initiated contact first and he takes their current position as a sign that he can slide his hands down the firm chest in front of him and rest them there as he tucks his head against Yongguk’s neck.

“My big, strong leader. Taking a stand against giant maknaes and nagging ulzzang’s everywhere.”

Yongguk’s cheeks flush as he recalls the moment; they had spent the following ten minutes kissing on the couch like teenagers in their parent’s basement, half a mind on their warm body on front of them and the other half on the lookout for the other occupants of the apartment. He thinks he should probably feel embarrassed about the way Daehyun’s caused him to regress, but he can only find a sense of elation.

He looks at Daehyun now, and gets lost in the younger’s voice. One of the purest voices he’s ever heard, ringing out in the stadium. Even the staff backstage has fallen into a hush.

He looks like an angel, Yongguk thinks, and sounds like one, too. Hair glowing so that it almost seems like he had a halo, soft sweater covering his hands as they softly grip the microphone, and emotion flowing from every sweet note that falls from lush lips.

Yongguk can hear the crew talking behind him, complimenting the younger’s voice as he sings, marvelling at the emotion in his performance. Yongguk smiles inwardly, feeling proud of the younger man and how much he had grown.

“Love you... Us...”

Credit: The gifs come from here and the corresponding video is here. Daehyun's solo at the first Baby Day is here.

Ending italics are the final words in the song Daehyun sang, 4MEN's 'What Are You Doing'.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the brotp that is Manager Kang/Daehyun? Too cute. Also, I mentioned in a blog post that besides Bangdae, I really like Himdae and Daejae. I have ideas for stories for both pairings, likely one-shots. I wanted to ask which pairing you'd like to see more/first, so for those of you who haven't chimed in and want to, I direct you to the poll at the end of this post. 

Also, I've had tumblr for ages, but I created a new one under the username flamesandembers. I haven't really posted anything yet, but feel free to follow me! I need people to talk about BAP with :(

Thanks for reading!